VIII Strength

If you want to know the truth of strength
it stands neither in the light nor in the dark,
but is ground down into the cracks and the corners between the two

Those who choose to become refugees
and those who choose to stay.
Those who rise above and get on
with sleeping in the beds that they have made.
The strong don't seek the freedom
which is nothing left to lose.
They seek to own their lives and
guide it by their choices.
The strong take back the right
to choose for themselves.

You want to know the depths of your own strength?
Feel the sun through your window every morning
and rise from you bed.
Get out of your house and choose our direction.
Put your mind to the task like a shoulder to the wheel
and do not stop for anything

Do not allow yourself to become too compromised
but do not allow yourself to become too rigid.
Because this is not the strength of the destructive closed fist.
This strength is the open hand of self-determination, self-assertion.
Be sure of your purpose and confident of your success.

Do not visualize the shining glory
of the crown you grasp for.
But feel the stretching of your arm
as you reach for it none the less.
Know that the glory of your strength
resides in your arm, not in the crown.